Russia: Availability of fraudulent documents

1. Overview

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2012, which ranks countries according to how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be, ranks Russia 133rd out of 176 countries, and gives Russia an overall score of 28 out of 100 (on a scale of 0-100, where 0 represents a perception of a country as "highly corrupt" and 100 "very clean"). According to a map of card fraud in Europe published by FICO, a "leading predictive analytics and decision management software company" (The Wall Street Journal 20 May 2013), and based on data provided by Euromonitor International, an independent company that specializes in strategy research for consumer markets (Euromonitor International n.d.), Russia has seen a 35 percent growth in overall fraudulent activity between 2011 and 2012, with all card-related fraud types being monitored (including identity fraud) growing by over one third (FICO 2013).

2. Legislation

Article 327 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation states the following:

Forgery of an identification card or any other official document which gives the rights and releases from duties, for the purpose of the use or sale of said document, and likewise manufacture for the same purposes or sale of falsified government awards of the Russian Federation, the RSFSR, and the USSR, or of stamps, seals, and forms, shall be punishable by restraint of liberty for a term of up to two years.

The same deeds, committed repeatedly, shall be punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to four years.

Use of a knowingly forged document shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of 100 to 200 minimum wages, or in the amount of the wage or salary, or any other income of the convicted person for a period of one or two months, or by compulsory works for a term of 180 to 240 hours, or by corrective labour for a term of up to two years, or by arrest for a term of three to six months. (Russia 1996)

Article 324 of the Criminal Code states the following:

Illegal acquisition or sale of official documents which grant rights or release from duties, and also of government awards of the Russian Federation, the RSFSR, and the USSR, shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of 100 to 200 minimum wages, or in the amount of the wage or salary, or any other income of the convicted person for a period of one to two months, or by corrective labour for a term of up to one year, or by arrest for a term of up to three months. (ibid.)

3. Fraudulent Documents

The Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), a non-profit organization established "in compliance with the instruction of the President of the Russian Federation" to "link between the state, expert community, business and civil society in an effort to find foreign policy solutions" (RIAC n.d.), indicates that in 2012,

law enforcement agencies identified about 7,120 people carrying forged documents, opened 2,000 criminal cases on material elements of offenses under Article 327 of the Russian Criminal Code (the forgery, manufacture or sale of falsified documents, government awards, stamps, seals, and forms), and about 830 people were prosecuted. Over eight months of 2012, about 4,800 people were found to have forged ID, over 1,000 criminal cases were launched, and about 340 people were prosecuted. As a proportion of the total number of crimes committed by foreign citizens in the Russian Federation, forging documents accounts for about 30 percent. (6 Aug. 2013)

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor specializing in post-Soviet politics and criminal justice at the University of Toronto stated that it was his impression that it "remains easy" to obtain fraudulent identity documents "of all kinds" in the Russian Federation (Professor at University of Toronto 10 Oct. 2013). He referred to a 2010 article in the Russian financial newspaper Vedomosti, which reports on the arrest and detention of members of a "large" Moscow-based group of traders in counterfeit documents: 30 "organizers, distributors, craftsmen, etc." were detained for their participation in a "business that brought in hundreds of millions of rubles each year" producing "fake passports, diplomas, migration documents, driver's licenses, birth certificates, death certificates, hospital records, security guard licenses, hunting licenses, and notarial documents" (Professor at University of Toronto 14 Oct. 2013; Vedomosti 13 July 2010). The Professor expressed the opinion that "this was not the only 'business' of this kind" and that there is "no doubt the group's competitors quickly filled the vacuum" (14 Oct. 2013).

According to the RIAC, Russian authorities who fight illegal migration "often" come across forged identity documentation, including "visas, migration cards, work permits and other documents required for entry" and residence in the Russian Federation, as well as documents needed for legal employment (6 Aug. 2013). According to Interfax, a "leading provider of critical information on Russia ... serving the diverse needs of investors, corporations, financial professionals and the media"(Interfax n.d.), a group selling governmental identity documents and license plates was exposed in 2011 (ibid. 1 July 2011). The organizer of the group, which was found possessing documents "with symbols of government agencies and law enforcement structures," identified himself as a senior officer and bodyguard of the Russian president (ibid.). Another member of the group was reportedly a former policeman (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Barents Observer, an Internet news service offering daily news from the Barents region and run by the Norwegian Barents Secretariat (Barents Observer n.d.), reported in 2009 that the Russian Ministry for Internal Affairs was receiving reports of individuals using fraudulent identity documents to impersonate INTERPOL officers in towns along Russia's border with Norway and Finland (ibid. 16 Apr. 2009). The documents were reported to look like INTERPOL identification badges in both shape and color with the official emblem, and the individuals were using the identification to "get personal benefits or get away after having done minor offences like breaking traffic regulations" (ibid.). The Barents Observer added that reports of similar incidents have been received from Moscow, Krasnodar, Tyumen and Astrakhan, as well as from Russia's neighboring countries (ibid.). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3.1 Use of Fraudulent Documents in Connection with Human Trafficking

Sources state that Russia is considered a transit country for men, women, and children subjected to human trafficking (The Jerusalem Post 23 Oct. 2007; US June 2012). The US Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report 2012 adds that Russia is also a source and destination country for the trafficking of persons (ibid.). In an article published by The Jerusalem Post, the project coordinator of an anti-trafficking grassroots organization explains that a "'legitimate Russian passport can be obtained quite easily'," which is in the interest of traffickers bringing people from countries of the Former Soviet Union block and Eastern Europe through Russia (23 Oct. 2007). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. State Efforts to Eliminate the Production and Distribution of Fraudulent Identity Documents

A professor of political science at Carleton University's Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies stated that with regards to the prevalence of fraudulent identity documents, in his opinion, "government institutions responsible for issuing such [identity] documents [have been] more efficient [in] the last years, and control over the process is stricter;" he expressed the opinion that "there is a significant difference now [than] even 4-5 years ago" due especially to the "computerization of data and training of personnel" (13 Oct. 2013).

The RIAC reports that since 2006, Russia has made efforts to improve the situation regarding illegal migration: it has "permanently endorsed and implemented cooperation programs involving CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] member states," including the Commission on countering illegal migration among CIS member states, the Coordination Council on combating illegal migration of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and the Russia-Belarus inter-government ministerial working group that elaborates recommendations for combating illegal migration as well as related criminal activities (RIAC 6 Aug. 2013). RIAC also reports that one of the guiding principles identified to combat illegal migration in Russia for the period through 2025 is to include "higher requirements for passport, visa and other ID documents" (ibid.). The Professor at Carleton University, while acknowledging the "still high level of corruption in Russia," maintains that there has been "better coordination among responsible agencies (including border agency)" and this is the "main reason for better efficiency" with regards to policing fraudulent identity documents (13 Oct. 2013).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Barents Observer. 16 April 2009. Trude Pettersen. "Fake INTERPOL Officers in Russian Border Towns." [Accessed 24 Sept. 2013]

_____. N.d. "News From the Barents Region." [Accessed 24 Sept. 2013]

Euromonitor International. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 14 Nov. 2013]

FICO. 2013. "Evolution of Card Fraud in Europe." [Accessed 18 Sept. 2013]

Interfax. 1 July 2011. "Russian Police Arrest Sellers of Govt IDs, License Plates." (Factiva)

_____. N.d. "About Interfax." [Accessed 18 Oct. 2013]

The Jerusalem Post. 23 October 2007. Ruth Eglash. "NGOs Warn Against Plan to Increase Russian Visas." [Accessed 24 Sept. 2013]

Professor of Political Science, Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, Carleton University. 13 October 2013. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Professor of Post-Soviet Politics and Criminal Justice, Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, University of Toronto. 14 October 2013. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

_____. 10 October 2013. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Russia. 1996. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. [Accessed 5 Oct. 2013]

Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). 6 August 2013. Ekaterina Egorova. "Illegal Migration in Russia." [Accessed 10 Oct. 2013]

_____. N.d. "What Is RIAC? General Information." [Accessed 10 Oct. 2013]

Transparency International. 2012. "Corruption by Country/Territory." [Accessed 24 Sept. 2013]

United States (US). June 2012. Department of State. "Russia." Trafficking in Persons Report 2012. [Accessed 24 Sept. 2013]

Vedomosti. 13 July 2010. "V Moskve zaderzhali torgovtsev poddeln'nymi dokumentami po ob"yavleniiam." [Accessed 11 Oct. 2013]

The Wall Street Journal. 20 May 2013. "France Overtakes UK as Europe's Top Card Fraud Victim, FICO Map Reveals." [Accessed 29 Oct. 2013]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: The following sources were unable to provide information: professors of political science, Tufts University, Carleton University. Attempts to contact the following individuals and organizations were unsuccessful: Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) Document Integrity Unit; Memorial Russia (International Historical Enlightenment Human Rights and Humanitarian Society); professors of political science, Carleton University, Stanford University, UMass Amherst, University at Albany; Russia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federal Migration Service.

Internet sites, including: Balkan Insight; BBC; Centre for Public Integrity; ecoi.net; Factiva; Humantrafficking.org; International Organization for Migration; INTERPOL; The Moscow Times; Novaya Gazeta; Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); RIA Novosti; Russia - Federal Migration Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; United Nations - Integrated Regional Information Networks, Office on Drugs and Crime, Refworld; US - Department of State; International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports.